The ravages of flooding don’t necessarily end when the flooding recedes, as several pockets of area residents can now testify.

For people in Epsom’s Kingstowne Mobile Home Park – parts of which were overtaken by the Suncook River during the height of mid-April’s 100-year flood event – the waters wreaked financial damage that may exceed the value of their homes.

One resident simply packed up what she could and abandoned her white trailer home sitting just yards away from the Suncook.

Another Kingstowne Park resident, said Epsom Selectman John Klose, “was hit real hard. He just started crying and walking away from here.”

Tom Hubbard described the water inside his home, before he was forced to evacuate along with his neighbors, as “almost up to my crotch.”

“Even my couch moved. I had furniture floating all over the place,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard’s been staying at a Concord Salvation Army shelter since the floods, and said he doesn’t know where to turn since his home is growing mold and may soon be condemned. He wasn’t able to get flood insurance for his trailer and his belongings have all been soaked.

“I’m throwing out all my crap – it’s no good,” he said.

Epsom’s health officer Cec Curran recently told selectmen though several homes in the neighborhood certainly qualify for condemnation, he’s not ready to make that move until the struggling families there can make some sort of living arrangements.

A crew of Epsom town officials and volunteers – including Klose, Fire Chief Stewart Yeaton and welfare officer Lisa Cote – recently went to the neighborhood to help residents fill out local and county relief forms.

The park’s residents – many of whom are elderly, have little to no income and some of whom have mental disabilities – would miss out on the opportunities for relief if the town didn’t go to them, Klose said.

“Some of these people can’t read,” Klose said. “People get a little embarrassed about that. You’ve got to dig a little deeper.”

Town volunteers also brought food from the town’s food pantry to struggling residents, since the Red Cross recently had to stop providing relief there. Klose said despite the town’s efforts, residents in the neighborhood are feeling more and more neglected by state and federal government agencies as time passes.

“A lot of these people, they’ve got nothing,” he said. “They’re angry.”

Kingstowne resident Steve Allen has been living with his daughter and three dogs on their mobile home’s front porch since the floods.

Allen, who’s lived in the home for three years, said he’s not sure if he’ll even try to salvage the trailer, which he bought for $28,000.

“I can’t see the point of trying to rehab something that may be in the same danger next year,” he said. “The trailer itself I’m not sure is worth it.”

Allen’s once green lawn leading to the Suncook now resembles a sandy beach. But the light colored sand throughout the area is deceiving, said Klose. It’s mixed with contaminants and septic waste that’s spilled over in people’s yards.

Said Allen, “When this sand and silt gets wet, it turns into this horrendous-smelling muck.”

Gov. John Lynch recently secured a statewide disaster declaration from the federal government, and is urging residents to register for relief with FEMA – even if they’ve registered with other groups – online at www.fema.gov or by phone at (800) 621-3362.